Avalanche Software’s “Hogwarts Legacy” was a controversial game that came out on staggered release dates. “Hogwarts Legacy” is based on the popular book series “Harry Potter” and takes place in 1890 in the United Kingdom.  

This comes with the baggage of also being related to the controversial author J.K. Rowling, which made many people hesitant to buy the game, as Rowling has made many transphobic comments. This also led to the game getting “review bombed” and being unfairly criticized due to J.K. Rowling, despite attempts from Avalanche Software to distance themselves from Rowling.  

But to give it a fair chance, The Register wanted to separate the politics from the game and revisit the game itself. 

The game is graphically beautiful. The landscape and Hogwarts Castle are breathtaking sights Harry Potter fans will adore. Hogwarts truly embodies the magic of the game. The score is jaw-dropping, and hearing the music immerses you in certain moments, making you feel like a part of the world. The moment when you first walk into the castle and hear the iconic theme by John Williams is magical. 

The voice acting for the main character, though, sounds robotic and almost AI-generated. Even after being out for a year, this problem has not been fixed. This should have been fixed after several updates, and it alienates the player from the story. 

The story itself is boring, as nothing happens until the very end. The tutorial takes forever to get through before you can finally explore the full world. The side quests don’t work; they are each meant to expand a different part of the game—you work with teachers to get spells, collaborate with classmates to get curses, or partner with house elves to get decorations for your hub— but they feel disconnected and don’t affect the story at all.  

The story itself is filled with flaws and political issues. The main villains are goblins who are rebelling against wizards because they are discriminated against and are seen as lesser than by wizards. They are the bad guys we are supposed to kill without thought. 

Speaking of combat, the gameplay in combat is fast-paced and action-packed in the beginning. By the end of the game, and even the middle, you have access to spells that can easily win fights on harder difficulties. The puzzles are very repetitive and don’t take much thought to finish. The puzzles also slow the game down at times because of how tedious and slow they are.  

Overall, the game is fine at best. The story is clunky, caring about the characters is hard, and the gameplay is repetitive and boring. The game is heavily carried by being the first open world “Harry Potter” game and the fantasy of Hogwarts Castle. But beyond that, it falls short to better games in its genre, such as “Elden Ring, “Baldur’s Gate 3,” and “Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.”